The Spheres at MacArthur Park Exhibition – Extended Through CicLAvia

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This is the last chance to see the Portraits of Hope project as the Mayor’s offices, LA Department of Recreation and Parks and LA Department of Cultural Affairs help extend the Spheres at MacArthur Park exhibition through Sunday, October 18th – as MacArthur Park is a key hub on the CicLAvia - Heart of LA map!

Although one exhibition will be ending, Portraits of Hope has no plan to stop there!

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB)October 15, 2015

CicLAvia catalyzes vibrant public spaces, active transportation and good health through car-free streets. Through engaging with people to transform our relationships with our communities and with each other, CicLAvia strives to make the streets safe for people to walk, skate, play and ride a bike. MacArthur Park, and the public art exhibition specifically, will be a must see sight on the CicLAvia path through central Los Angeles. This will be the last chance for the public to get a view of this huge, floating civic exhibition, and trust us, it’s a sight to see!

After the exhibition, the spheres will be donated to social service institutions across the U.S. to beautify and add color to their premises, including senior centers, women’s shelters, hospitals, and schools. Spheres distributions for social service and non-profit facility interior and exterior beautifications will begin the week of October 19, 2015. Interested groups need to contact poh(at)portraitsofhope.org to make pick-up arrangements at the park.

If you are an individual or private party who would like one of the spheres, you have 2 options to get your hands on one: volunteer for a minimum of 8 hours at the park during the de-installation of the exhibition, October 19th through the 23rd, or make a donation to Portraits of Hope and you will be able to reserve a sphere. Contact poh(at)portraitsofhope.org.

Although one exhibition will be ending, Portraits of Hope has no plan to stop there! The organization will soon plan their next big national initiative, which will involve beautifying animal shelters to make them more inviting public spaces as a way to promote pet adoption. Like all other projects, this will involve all the elements of a Portraits of Hope project: public art, civic education, creative therapy, community engagement and teamwork. This animal welfare initiative will include Portraits of Hope's traditional populations served including students in grades 3-12 and children in hospitals.

Portraits of Hope was founded by brothers Ed Massey and Bernie Massey, Portraits of Hope has engaged tens of thousands of children and adults in huge civic collaborations – in the U.S. and abroad – and involved more than 1,000 hospitals, schools, and social service programs in its projects.

ABOUT THE SPHERES AT MACARTHUR PARK

Iconic MacArthur Park sits in the heart of Los Angeles and is home to a large urban lake that comprises 7 football fields in total surface area. For the last two months, MacArthur Park has experienced a visual transformation as floating, colorful spheres as large as 4, 5, and 6 ft, spread throughout the lake as part of a major public art, revitalization, and civic project. 7,000+ children and youth in Los Angeles and Southern California, among a total of 10,000 Angelenos, have participated in Portraits of Hope art, creative therapy, and civic leadership sessions in schools and hospitals in which much of the art was created with much support from Niagara Cares. Much of the vibrantly-hued art is floral themed -- as the flower is the universal symbol of beauty, joy, life, inspiration, and renewal. The flower is integral to Portraits of Hope. Spheres with aquatic designs are also integral to the exhibition. Between 2—3,000 spheres float on the lake on a rotating basis – continually changing the look of the park and the lake.

The extension of the initial exhibition is made possible, in part, by the support of Mayor Garcetti, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, CicLAvia, and Community Arts Resources, which have been instrumental in the effort to extend the exhibition.

The Spheres at MacArthur Park is a continuation of Portraits of Hope’s large-scale, national projects which have visually transformed and brightened public settings and symbols ranging from the NYC taxi fleet, blimps, planes, and buildings to LA’s coastal lifeguard towers, NASCAR race cars, and frontline fire and rescue vehicles – providing youth in hospitals, schools and the community a chance to achieve in the public arena.